Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Stock Price Down 1.3% – Should You Sell?

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)’s stock price dropped 1.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $180.12 and last traded at $182.09. Approximately 1,902,878 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 5,916,426 shares. The stock had previously closed at $184.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $222.50 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $207.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $188.00 to $212.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Hsbc Global Res cut Palo Alto Networks from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Palo Alto Networks from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $195.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.85.

Palo Alto Networks Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.59 and a 200-day moving average of $179.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.14.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The network technology company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.12 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 23.36% and a net margin of 32.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Palo Alto Networks

In other Palo Alto Networks news, CEO Nikesh Arora sold 176,242 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.04, for a total value of $31,730,609.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,086,404 shares in the company, valued at $195,596,176.16. The trade was a 13.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.70, for a total transaction of $21,564,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 365,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,744,323.20. The trade was a 24.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 867,734 shares of company stock worth $161,546,523 over the last ninety days. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Palo Alto Networks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 113.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 77 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 352.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL lifted its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 177.4% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 86 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 2,933.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 91 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.